Psalm 16 In the Silence You're all I Want

I'll be on Silent Retreat this week at Lakeview Methodist Conference Center in the beautiful, Texas Piney Woods near Palestine, Texas.

I invite you to breathe deeply and allow the Spirit of God to fill you as you join me in silence.  Breathe deeply and let the stillness wash over you in gentle waves.   If your mind refuses to stop, simply ask yourself if you might only pause for just a moment to immerse yourself in the beauty of Psalm 16 ... 

Breathe, breathe, breathe ...   

Read the Word ... 

 

Psalm 16
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
A special psalm by David.

Protect me, Lord God!
    I run to you for safety,
and I have said,
    “Only you are my Lord!
    Every good thing I have
    is a gift from you.”

Your people are wonderful,
    and they make me happy,
    but worshipers of other gods
    will have much sorrow.
I refuse to offer sacrifices
of blood to those gods
    or worship in their name.

You, Lord, are all I want!
    You are my choice,
    and you keep me safe.
You make my life pleasant,
    and my future is bright.

I praise you, Lord,
    for being my guide.
Even in the darkest night,
    your teachings fill my mind.
I will always look to you,
    as you stand beside me
    and protect me from fear.
With all my heart,
I will celebrate,
    and I can safely rest.

I am your chosen one.
You won’t leave me in the grave
    or let my body decay.
You have shown me
    the path to life,
    and you make me glad
    by being near to me.
Sitting at your right side,
    I will always be joyful.

Was there a word or a phrase that caught your attention as you read?   Take that word or phrase and turn it over in your mind ... listen to the word(s) and let it (them) fill you with wonder and delight.

Perhaps you might read Psalm 16 again.

Breathe, breathe, breathe ... 

Receive the Word ... 

How is your word or phrase illuminating your life right now?  Has your word or phrase drawn attention to something in your life you need to attend to?  What might God be saying to you through this word that you have received?

Perhaps you might read Psalm 16 again.

Breathe, breathe, breathe ... 

Respond to the Word ... 

Are there words welling up within you that you need to speak to yourself?  Are there words that are emerging that you want to speak to God?  Allow the words to flow from within you as you pray with all of your self ... your mind, your body, your emotions ... are there expressions of prayer and worship that you would give as an offering to God?

Perhaps you might read Psalm 16 again.

Breathe, breathe, breathe ... 

Rest in the Word ... 

Simply allow the Silence to fall upon you, to emerge from within you, and to bloom in Love for yourself, for others, for God and for the World.

May you be blessed by God.  

As an Amen, which means "so be it," listen to this instrumental arrangement of Draw Me Close To You on Youtube.  Close your eyes or watch the majestic nature photos scroll, whichever you find most restful.

Job Wk 3 Out of the Raging Storm, God Speaks!

Last week, we wondered and asked with Job, “Where are you God?”  It is a question people ask with many different emotions, from anguish to joy, from anger to complacency.   And I wonder what would happen if God actually decided to answer … shhhh … God is that you?

Suddenly God speaks but God doesn’t speak on Job’s terms or on our terms either.  God speaks but it is not to answer our selfish little questions.  God speaks in order to remind all of humanity WHO God is.  God is Creator … Eternal One … One who WAS, One who IS and One who always WILL BE ... THE ONLY ONE!   God contains the past, the present, and the future in God-Self.   

Ok, so I am a little droplet engulfed in the “raging storm” that IS God.  There is a something quite exhilarating about that thought … riding the waves with God who is in total control.  And God invites us into that wild ride.

When you are ready to ride the waves in total surrender to God, I invite you to spend a few moments in silence to open your heart to fully grasp the Word God has for you.  Are you able to “wait” on God to “speak” out of the raging storm of your life?   

Breathe deeply and settle into your soul with a simple breath prayer.  Use this one or create your own (six to eight syllables)

          Breathe in … Eternal One (pause)      Breath out … give me a word!  (pause)

and when you are ready to move deeper into the text ...  Pray:  Eternal One,  often I wonder where you are.  I seek you here and I seek you there.  I rarely look around my life to find you already at work within in and out in the world.  Forgive me, Eternal One and fill my heart with your presence as I seek you in the wild and crazy world I inhabit, both within and without.  Amen.

Step 1: Lectio … Reading        Read Job 38:1-7 and 34-41 silently to yourself once, slowly and reverently.  Listen for a word or phrase that shimmers for you.  Read the passage a 2nd time out loud with your whole body.  Can you describe the way you feel as you read these holy words?  Can you feel the raging storm?   Or do you feel more of a calm afternoon rain in your inner world?  ?? ??

Know that as you move through Lectio the illumination of words/thoughts might change and that is ok ... simply move where Spirit leads.  Focus courageously on the word or phrase that arises for you in any given reading.  Repeat your word and all of the emotion it embodies several times.  Allow it to sink deeply within, all the way to the center of your being.

 Job 38:1-7 and 34-41

(The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice ™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society) 

Cindy Serio © November 2011

 Out of the raging storm, the Eternal One answered Job. Eternal One: Who is this that darkens counsel, who covers over sound instruction with empty words void of knowledge? Now, prepare yourself and gather your courage like a warrior. Prepare yourself for the task at hand. I’ll be asking the questions, now— you will supply the answers. Where were you when I dug and laid the foundation of the earth? Explain it to me, if you are acquainted with understanding. Who decided on the measurements? Surely you know that! Who stretched out a line to measure the dimensions? Upon what base was the foundation set? Or who laid the cornerstone On the day when the stars of the morning broke out in song and God’s Can you bellow out orders at the clouds and pull down a flood of rain around you? Can you dispatch bolts of lightning on their way, who instantly obey and say to you, “Here we are”? Who put wisdom within the center of the created or granted understanding to the mind?* Who has the wisdom to count the clouds and send them on their way or tip over the water skins of heaven to refresh the ground below When the dry dust is as hard as metal and clods of clay clump together? Can you hunt prey for the lioness or sate the appetites of her cubs while they crouch in their dens and wait in the brush? Who nourishes the hungry raven when its young chirp to God and wander for want of food?  

Step 2: Meditatio … Receiving
Read the passage a third time slowly  …
in whatever way seems appropriate for where you are right now.
Continue to focus on your word or phrase
(even if a different emphasis has emerged)    
Pay attention to the thoughts and feelings it evokes.
What images emerge in your imagination?    
What memories come to your mind?
Ask God to continue to speak to you through this word.    

Step 3: Oratio … Responding
Consider any desires that have been awakened by your prayer.   
Perhaps you have found an area of your inner life or your outer life that needs attention.   
Do not rush ... wait and listen as God forms your prayers and desires

Step 4: Contempatio … Resting
Allow yourself to rest in the silence.  
Allow your mind to settle into the silence.  
When you feel the time to move on ...

Pray … Eternal One, I want to welcome you in whichever way you come to me.  Help me to honor you in all ways that I am able.  When the raging storm wells up from within me, help me find you in the center of it all  … Amen

Cindy's Meditation ...  For some reason, this image of God as the raging storm within and without appeals to me right now.  It seems like the world is raging in so many ways.  I think we often create a container and call it evil so we can ignore the disintegration as something not relevant to us.   But what if the raging is just the moaning and groaning of the world in discontent with the way we human beings treat the world.   I am forever grateful for life and the world in all of its many ways of being and I pray that I may continue to grow as I come to view the world as a renewable resource that I must care for in order to preserve a future for all of God’s children.  

God of the Raging Storm, I am grateful for YOU as you teach me your ways and call me ever deeper!

Job Wk 2 Where are you God?

If you could ask God one question, what would that question be?  

For me, it would be “Why do people suffer?”   Many good Christians believe the bible says clearly that we suffer because we have sinned “and fallen short.”   Well, I’m not sure the bible speaks clearly about anything at all.  And I know that “we sin, we suffer” and “we don’t sin, we don’t suffer” is just not that simple nor is it at all true in real life.  We have only to read the book of Job in one hand and a newspaper in the other hand to know that! 

We fast-forward this week all the way to chapter 23.  In the chapters leading up to the passage for this week, Job’s “friends” have pleaded with him to simply confess his sins and his suffering will be alleviated.   Job refuses because he says he has not sinned.   Of course, they don’t believe him, but we know what he says is true.   Have you ever shouted at the bible?  This story makes me want to sit Job’s “friends” down and give them a good “shouting-to!” 

Job has lost everything from his land to his children and everything in between … Job has a wicked skin disorder driving him crazy and ostracizing him from the community.  Job sounds angry with God.  Have you ever been angry with God?   How were you able to work out your anger?   Have you ever spent time in the silence, just waiting for God to show up?

When you are ready I invite you to spend a few moments in the silence to prepare your heart to receive the Word of God as you prayerfully consider the Scripture passage for today and “wait” on God.   Breathe deeply and settle into your soul with a simple breath prayer.  Use this one or create your own (six to eight syllables)

          Breathe in … Elusive God (pause)      Breath out … hear my prayers  (pause)

and when you are ready to move deeper into the text ...  Pray:  Elusive God, Often I feel like I cannot see you or hear you or know you are here with me.  Help me to discern your presence and how you are calling me into a deeper knowing of you through the silence.  Amen.

Step 1: Lectio … Reading        Read Job 23:1-9, 16-17 silently to yourself twice, slowly and reverently.  Listen for a word or phrase that shimmers for you.  Know that as you move through Lectio the illumination of words/thoughts might change and that is ok ... simply move where Spirit leads.  Gently focus on the word or phrase that arises for you in any given reading.  Repeat it several times and allow it to speak deeply into your heart and mind all the way to your soul.

(The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice ™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society)
Job confided to his friends. Job: So once again you are telling me my complaint amounts to rebellion, that the heavy hand I feel upon me is smothering my groans? Would that I knew where to find Him. I would appear before Him. I would lay my case out before Him; I would fill up my mouth with arguments. And then I would finally learn how He would answer me, and I would understand what He tells me. Would He oppose me merely with His great power? Surely not! Surely He would show me the respect of listening to my argument. There, in that courtroom, a moral man might hope to reason with Him, and I would escape my Judge forever. Alas, wherever I go, ahead or behind, He is not there; I am unable to find Him. When He works on either side of me, I still cannot see Him.  Yes, God has melted my courage, and the Highest One has overwhelmed me with His terror. He could have turned me aside when the darkness came, but He did not cut me off. Nor does He hide my face from the gloom that has now overtaken me.
 
Step 2: Meditatio … Receiving
Read the passage a third time slowly.
Continue to focus on your word or phrase
(even if a different emphasis has emerged)   
Pay attention to the thoughts and feelings it evokes.
What images emerge in your imagination?   
What memories come to your mind?
Ask God to continue to speak to you through this word.   
Listen for God’s reply as you move through your day

Step 3: Oratio … Responding
Consider any desires that have been awakened by your prayer.  
Perhaps you have found an area of your life that needs attention.  
Do not rush ... wait and listen as God forms your prayers and desires

Step 4: Contempatio … Resting
Allow yourself to rest in the silence. 
Allow your mind to settle into the silence. 
When you feel the time to move on ...

Pray … Elusive God, hear my prayers.  Answer me when I call to you.  Come and make your home with me, speak to me, show me how I can listen for others as you have listened patiently for me.   … Amen

Cindy's Meditation ...  “the Highest One has overwhelmed me!”  In silence you are with me. 
In silence the beauty of the earth you created calls to me.  In silence your glory is revealed in the setting sun.  O God, Highest One, you have overwhelmed me with the beauty of Silence!  I find it almost incomprehensible that people suffer such darkness in the midst of such beauty in light ... it baffles me O Light of the World!

So … If you could ask God one question, what would that question be? 

Psalm 98: Sing a New Song!

Hang on dear people ... I'm about to share a Psalm from a beautiful book called Rejoice, Beloved Woman!   "If a woman wrote the psalms, this is what they would sound like."  (excerpt from back cover)


Let's ... Sing a New Song!


Much has been written about gender-inclusive language.  Many translations and versions now include women in translating passages which were clearly intended to be addressed to all people in the original Greek language.  Perhaps this has invited people to open their minds a little ... fear not!


With a fresh reading of Psalm 98, perhaps you will be invited to open your mind a lot.  I invite you to open your mind and your heart to the God who refuses to be put in a box, whether it is a box in the form of an ark in the Ancient Near East or in the form of the narrow-mindedness of human beings, whether they be man or woman!


People often find it amusing that in "serious" bible study classes people laugh at the Israelite people who thought God resided IN that Ark of the Covenant but ... don't we keep God, the great I AM locked in an ark of our own making when we refuse to welcome the tapestry of images of God that are woven together in our bible and other spiritual writings, in the songs of faith, in the beauty of creation, and in the hearts of some of the most faithful people in the world.


While living in Canada, I was a member of a church that was committed to being inclusive by using gender-neutral language for God.  This is good.  My eyes and my heart were opened to God in exciting new ways.  However, I didn't actually weep all the way to my soul and my toes until God was referred to as "her" during our reading of the Affirmation of Faith in the midst of the worshiping community at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, California.  Something within my deepest truest self made a healing shift that Sunday night as my public image of God grew and I truly felt connected to God my Mother IN community!  Truth be told, my own dear Mother God had been coming to me in my prayers for some time but I had been too afraid to embrace Her ...


How are you feeling with all of this ... excited, fearful, elated, angry?  Where are you feeling your reaction in your body?  Is your "inside self" responding with "yes, yes, yes!" or "no, no, no!"   


Take a few moments and sit in the stillness of God's Presence with all of your feelings and just breath until you feel the peace of God envelope you.   Wherever you are, it is truly ok!  Remember ...


Wherever you are, God is!   Let's ... Sing a New Song!


Read Psalm 98 slowly and consider these images of God as you read.

Sing a new song to Shaddai, for She has done marvelous things.  

Her gentle hands and strong arms have shown her saving power.  

She has shown mercy and revealed her love to the loyal children.  

The ends of the earth know her ways.  

Make happy sounds to praise her.  

All the cosmos worships her with the song of its being.   

The melody of life rises to her hearing.  

The entire body of creation sways in worship of Shaddai. 

The seas rumble and the fish dance for her.  

Hills cover themselves in the softness of blossoms to praise her.  

Reeds sing their thin song and 

elephants trumpet the fullness of their being for her to hear.  

The waters of the seashore clap in praise of her works.  

Joy comes to all beings living in her.

Perhaps you can consider this prayer psalm for a few moments longer ... where is all of this taking me?   Where am I being drawn to God in the text?  Where do I seem to be resisting an invitation?   Where has my attention been captured by the words?


Read the Psalm again.  Is there a word or a phrase that shimmers up ... or perhaps shouts out to you?  Take that word or phrase and Reflect upon it.  What questions arise from this word or phrase to affirm you or to challenge you?   Is there a gift for you?   What are you receiving from your pondering the text?


Read the Psalm again.  Perhaps you will stay with your word or phrase and perhaps another word or phrase is calling you ... How do you Respond to what you are hearing from God?  Is there a prayer or refrain of gratitude that arises within you to offer to the world?  


Read the Psalm one last time and Rest.  Stay with your feelings, whatever they may be, for as long as you can.  Let the silence wrap you in comfort and peace ... until you are ready to move on


As you move on ... what "new song" are you singing?   


If this post/subject has stirred something within you, check out this Patheos.com article Giving Up a Too-Small God: How to let go of the God of whom you are certain and open yourself to the One who is beyond your imagining by Christine Valters Paintner


Shalom dear people!